Their Secret Past
by AmberIcedHeart
Summary: How Hawkeye and Roy met  i suck at summaries  Spans from pre manga to eventually post manga so spoilers. royai. rated for minor swears


Author's Note: this is my first fanfic, pleas be kind! Review Please! i will edit it and hopefully add to it.

Disclaimer: i do not own FMA or any of the characters

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_Knock. Knock._

"Riza, get the door. It must be the apprentice," the man commanded, not even looking up from the old alchemic text he was currently hunched over.

"Yes Father." The girl replied.

The girl was small and blonde with eyes a peculiar shade of amber that had a way of piercing who ever she was looking at. As she walked to the door, face devoid of any emotion, she thought to herself angrily about appearances, for just a little over an hour previous, yet another idiot boy had mistaken her for a guy. Just because she doesn't wear skirts or dresses and wears her hair short, doesn't mean she has to look like a guy, were her thoughts.

With a sigh she opened the door to see her father's new apprentice. With a sharp intake of breath, she realized that the boy just happened to be the idiot from earlier.

After she regained her composure, she said, "Hello, you must be Teacher's new apprentice. He is waiting in his study. Follow me." Despite her attempt it civility, her words still came out short and snappy.

The boy, quite frankly, was looking at her in confusion and displeasure, asked her snappishly, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm his daughter and apprentice," she stopped suddenly and spun around to glare at him menacingly, "don't get on my nerves, got it?"

"Or what, you'll go crying to your daddy," he sneered back at her. The girl's only reply was to open her jacket and take out a slingshot, loaded with rocks, and aim it at his crotch. The boy visibly paled and shut up.

After the reached the study, the boy introduced himself as Roy Mustang. As the Teacher began his interview, asking Roy everything from his age to his ethnicity, to his favorite type of food, Riza watched, looking for any dishonesty in his answers. Finally Teacher asked his final question, the question that ended most boys' apprenticeship before it had even started.

"Why do you want to know alchemy," the man asked, his eyes and his daughter's eyes, boring into the boy's.

"I want to help people. I was found on the streets, and orphan. My mother and father had died fleeing Xing when I was five and my sister was three. Our clan's enemy had come into power and was going to wipe our clan our. My family was targeted first because my father was our clan's leader. Someone had leaked information about our escape and my parents were killed. I was lucky and they did not find my sister or me. We were found by Chris Mustang, Madame Christmas, and adopted by her in Central City," Roy took a shaky breath and continued, "If it was not for Madame Christmas and her adoptive daughters, my sister, Lia, and I would not be alive so I am in debt to her. I wish to be able to protect them and I decided that combining my knowledge of Alkehestry with Alchemy, would be my best option."

There was a long tense pause, the Teacher and his daughter having a conversation without words, until they reached an agreement.

"Fine. I will take you as my apprentice. You will need to train hard and study to catch up to my daughter. Lucky for you, though, I know the Purification Arts as well as my daughter, so we will help further your knowledge in that aspect. Also your knowledge in the Purification Arts, or Alkehestry, will with your Alchemy." The man's face suddenly turned dark, "Also, I almost forgot to ask of your opinion on what a state alchemist is, but I will assume that you will not become one of those dogs."

"Yes Master Hawkeye" came his response.

"Riza, please escort Roy to his room." Teacher commanded

"Yes sir," she said as she bowed respectively to him.

The next eight years remained the same. Waking up early to have a simple breakfast prepared by Riza, followed by hours of rigorous training, both physical and mental, with only a short break for lunch, and a small dinner.

These training sessions consisted of advanced sciences and math, for Roy, language study (although he spoke Xingnese and Amestrian fluently he did not know the language Latin, which was apparently a language of the old world. These languages were commonly found in Alchemic formulas.), sparing, first without alchemy, then with, and of course memorizing Alchemic equations.

Roy found these sessions difficult, particularly the sparring lessons. At first Roy thought that he had the upper hand in fighting skills, being of an average size, next to Riza's sub-average size, and the fact that he was two years older then she was. He was terribly wrong. Riza was ten times stronger then she looked and extremely agile and flexible. She could easily over power him in hand-to-hand combat without alchemy. Roy also quickly figured out that Riza's alchemy was particularly powerful and that she was quick in drawing transmutation circles. One night, while Riza was studying some old alchemic texts that Roy couldn't understand, he decided to talk to Master Hawkeye.

"Master," he asked, "Is it just my imagination, or is Riza's Alchemy particularly powerful? She is able to make massive transmutations without losing stamina."

The older man sighed and responded, "You are correct. Riza not only has a natural knack for alchemy, but she was born with especially potent alchemy. Her mother was part Xingnese and was well know for her extraordinary abilities before she died. I will admit that I am also a powerful alchemist. I have been offered a spot as a State Alchemist many times although I have refused those offers. I believe that my lineage also contains powerful alchemists, but being mostly Ishbalan, my family rejected me for studying alchemy, so I wouldn't know. As a matter a fact, Riza's mother, Elisabeth, was also rejected by her family for marrying an Ishbalan. Well, I shouldn't say family, her father wanted to stay in contact, but his wife, who is a total appearance oriented bitch, prevented him from doing so."

"Thank you Master for sharing with me this information, it is late and I should be going to bed." Roy said respectively.

This information on Riza greatly effected Roy's opinion of her. Even though she was downright cold to him, beating him up, or threatening him with her slingshot, he respected her and now sympathized with her.

Riza was up late contemplating the events of the last few months. She found Roy to be self-absorbed and an arrogant bastard at first, but later developed new opinions of him. He was defiantly a very strong alchemist and very smart and nice. He also was very attractive, with narrow Xingnese eyes a deep onyx colour and untidy hair that matched in colour. Not to mention his broad ches- _Gahhah, I DON'T LIKE ROY MUSTANG, I REFUSE TO THINK LIKE THAT_ her mind yelled at her imagination.

The next day, continued on, much alike all others, except for the fact that Riza was in a particularly foul mood. When Roy came down for breakfast, three minutes late, he immediately received some rocks projected into his balls via Riza's slingshot as punishment. Roy noted to himself, in-between shouting Xingnese profanities, that Riza _never _missed her target, unfortunately for him.

The day continued on like this until nightfall when Riza locked herself in her room. She must have been awake, because Roy heard the noise of chalk and materials being deposited and measured on the floor. He also heard Riza muttering to herself in a language he didn't recognize. He heard her clap and the spark of energy as she, he guessed, activated the transmutation circle. He all of a sudden heard a blood curdling scream coming from her room. Roy jumped up immediately and ran down the hall to her room. Master Hawkeye, Roy noted, was already there. When the Teacher heard Roy approaching, he yelled at Roy to return to his room and not come out until further notice. The sixteen-year-old boy quickly complied.

Riza's father, Bethrold Hawkeye, immediately knew something was wrong when he heard the scream. With a jolt, he remembered that Riza had a sudden interest in bio-alchemy, and realized what she must have done. He rushed to her room and was about to transmute the lock off the door when he saw Roy running towards Riza's room. He sent Roy away, for he did not want the innocent boy to see what had happened.

When he entered the room, his suspicions were confirmed. Riza commit the taboo. The Human Transmutation. Riza lay gasping on the ground, withering in agony, surrounded by a transmutation circle. He then saw the pulsating lump of bones and muscles that was what his daughter tried to create.

He, being one of the few who knew what the product of a failed human transmutation and how to destroy the thing, took action immediately. Pulling out a small pendant, inscribed with transmutation circle, attacked the monster and almost destroyed it, but used most of his strength in the process. Seeing that it was not completely destroyed, the man mustered his strength and activated a final circle. One only to be used in absolute emergencies for the toll was a hastened death. The inhumane thing was destroyed. Staggering over to his daughter, Bethrold roused his daughter.

"Riza! Why the hell did you commit the taboo!" he gasped.

"Sorry… missed…mother…needed…her" she managed to say in-between pants.

"What did that thing take from you," he asked with sudden fear.

"It took…it took all my good memories of mother away… it also took away my ability to have children, for that was a dream of mine," she said on the verge of crying, "Father, what happened to you!"

"The… thing you created, it wasn't Elisabeth, it was a monster…, a homunculi, an artificial human. They can't be allowed to live… They will join… the enemy of humans. I had to destroy it, but the power I used, the toll was my life…good…bye…Riza." He choked out.

"FATHER!" she cried out, to the dead man. She wept for what seemed like hours. Finally she shakily stood up and saw only the charred remains of the homunculi. She swept them up and threw them out of the window, crying. She remembered, suddenly, the presence of the other person in her house. Riza rushed down the hall and opened the door to Roy's room.


End file.
